The Brothers and the Tiger
by XFangHeartX
Summary: Summary inside. Read and review.


One Piece: The Brothers and the Tiger

One Piece © Oda

Summary- After coming back to their hideout, Ace, Luffy, and Sabo have a run-in with a tiger. As they try to escape, Luffy loses his greatest treasure to the big cat: his straw hat. Ace and Sabo promise they'll get it back for him, but Luffy has other plans.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon on Mt. Colbo.

The three brothers, Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, and Monkey D. Luffy had just returned from another successful raid in the town. While Ace and Sabo were carrying bags of food around their necks, Luffy was marching along behind, sucking on a bone.

"Man," Luffy moaned. "I'm so hungry, right now, I could eat TEN horses!"

"You just ate that piece of meat," Ace retorted. "You can't still be hungry!"

"You should talk, Ace," said Sabo. "You ate more than Luffy on the way here!"

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed.

"I did not!" Ace exclaimed.

"Did so!" Sabo said.

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

As the brothers began to climb up the rope to their tree-house, they heard a loud growl sound off.

They looked back to little Luffy with small scowls on their faces.

"What?"

"Luffy," Ace said. "We know you're hungry, but your stomach growling is not gonna help."

Luffy looked at his big brothers, confused, and then looked down at his tummy.

It wasn't making any noises.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Luffy.

Ace and Sabo's eyes went wide.

"That wasn't you?" Sabo asked.

Luffy shook his head, "no".

"Well, if it wasn't you," Ace began, "what was it?"

**ROOOOAAAARR~!**

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy looked back and saw a huge tiger leap out from the bushes, causing them all to scream.

"OH, CRAP!" Sabo yelled as he climbed up the rope.

"C'MON, LUFFY!" Ace called to his little brother. "CLIMB!"

As the brothers began their desperate climb up the rope to escape the tiger, Luffy felt something fall from his head. He gasped before he looked back down.

His straw hat was floating down to the tiger!

"No!" Luffy exclaimed as he prepared to stretch his arms and grab it, accidentally letting go of the rope as he did. "Hat!"

"LUFFY!" Ace cried.

"DON'T JUST SIT THERE, DUMB-ASS!" Sabo yelled. "GRAB HIM!"

Ace shimmied down the rope before he grabbed his foolish little brother by the back of his shirt.

Luffy could only watch as the tiger tried to jump and grab Luffy, but as he did, his hat fell upon the big cat's crown.

"HAT!" Luffy cried as Ace hoisted him and himself up the rope to the tree-house.

The tiger, deciding to give up, retreated back to the forest…with Luffy's treasured hat atop his head.

"NO~!" Luffy screamed as he struggled to get out of his brother's grasp. "MY HAT! WHAT ABOUT MY HAT?"

"Forget the stupid hat, Luffy!" Sabo said. "You should be glad you're safe, you moron!"

Luffy didn't listen. He just kicked, screamed, and cried, demanding that he have his hat back.

XXX

Ace and Sabo ate their lunch messily while their little brother sat in the corner, sulking and trying hard to hide his tears.

Sabo looked at Luffy, somewhat annoyed. He's making such a fuss over a tattered old straw hat.

"Ace," Sabo said. "What's with Luffy? He's bumming me out."

Ace looked at Luffy, who shivered and sobbed silently, whispering, "Hat…!"

He let out a sigh before he went over and sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Luffy," he called softly. "I'm sorry about your hat."

Luffy didn't respond.

"Listen," said Ace. "If it makes you feel any better, Sabo and I will find that tiger tomorrow morning and bring your hat back." He turned to Sabo. "Right, Sabo?"

Sabo seemed unsure, but then he nodded his head.

Luffy smiled softly, feeling a little better.

"C'mon," Ace said, patting his little brother on the back. "Let's eat."

Luffy nodded his head in agreement before Ace lead him to their lunch mat so he could eat with his brothers.

XXX

Ace woke up later that night from a sudden feeling.

He didn't know why, but he just had this strange sense in the pit of his stomach that there was something terribly wrong.

Getting out of his futon, Ace crept over to where Luffy should be sleeping.

"Luffy," Ace whispered so as not to wake Sabo. "Hey, you awake, little brother?"

Gently pulling the sheets away, Ace gasped as he realized his fears had just been confirmed.

Luffy wasn't here.

Ace ran up to Sabo and began to shake him awake.

"Wake up, Sabo!" Ace called. "Wake up! Hurry!"

Sabo groaned as he sat up in his futon.

"What~?" he whined.

"It's Luffy," Ace said. "He's gone!"

"What?" Sabo cried, now wide awake. "Where'd he go?"

"I dunno!" Ace answered. "I woke up and he was gone!"

"Well, if he's not here," Sabo began, "where is he?"

A pause came, but then the brother gasped in realization.

"He wouldn't…!" they both exclaimed.

XXX

Luffy walked through the forest, lead pipe in hand.

"That stupid tiger's gonna pay for taking my hat," he said, gently batting his hand with his pipe.

However, as he walked by, he didn't notice a pair of glowing yellow eyes glaring at him from behind.

XXX

"Luffy!" Ace called out, armed with his lead pipe. "Where are you?"

"Answer us!" Sabo shouted.

"Damn it," Ace cursed. "I can't believe he'd be so stupid! I know that hat means a lot to him, but I told him we'd find it in the morning! I just he'd wish start listening to us, for once!"

"I just don't understand why he did it for stupid, tattered, old hat!" Sabo yelled. "He can just get another one!"

Ace sighed.

"Sabo," he said. "I never told you this before, but that 'stupid tattered old hat' means more to Luffy than you'll ever know."

Sabo raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You see," explained Ace, "before we met Luffy, he was friends with this pirate named Shanks."

Sabo gasped.

"Shanks?" he repeated, questioningly. "As in THE 'Red-Haired' Shanks?"

Ace nodded.

"Anyway," he continued, "Luffy looked up to Shanks as a hero, and it's because of him that Luffy's still alive right now."

"Why?" asked Sabo.

"Because Shanks saved Luffy's life," Ace answered. "He lost his left arm to save him from that Sea King that lives in the coast."

"I don't what that hat has anything to do with this, though," said Sabo.

"I'm getting to that," Ace replied. "When it was time for Shanks to leave, he entrusted Luffy with that hat of his. They made a promise that day…for Luffy to give that hat back to him, and only when he became the King of the Pirates."

Sabo was left speechless. Now he knew why that old hat was so important to Luffy.

It was a reminder of the man who had him inspired to be a pirate.

"AAAAAAHH~!"

Ace and Sabo looked up upon hearing that scream.

"LUFFY!" they cried before they sprinted off.

XXX

Luffy ran like the Devil himself was after him, or in this case, the tiger.

The big cat galloped behind him, fangs bared and claws exposed.

The boy managed to avoid a swipe from the tiger's deadly claws before he ducked into a large enough bolt hole for him to fit and hide in. The tiger clawed at the hole, trying to reach in and grab Luffy, who could only scream and kick the big cat's paws away, praying that his brothers would come and get him out of the mess he had gotten himself into.

"Luffy!"

"We'll save you!"

"Ace! Sabo!" Luffy called. "I'm in here!"

Ace thwacked his lead pipe at the tiger's face. The tiger growled at the ten-year-old and approached him, growling.

Ace stood his ground, as did Sabo.

"Get away from our little brother, you damn pussycat!" Sabo growled as he continuously hit the tiger in the head with his pipe.

The tiger tried to fight back, but the two older boys proved to be more than a match for him as they continued to whack their pipes against his head, being careful not to hit the straw hat which lie on top.

Eventually, Ace and Sabo managed to scare the tiger away, forcing it up a tree, and as he did, Luffy's hat fell off of his head and floated safely down to the ground.

"Hat!" Luffy cheered as he ran to pick it up and put it back on its rightful place: his head. "Look, guys!" he said as he turned to his brothers. "I got my hat back!"

**WHAP!** Ace fiercely slapped his little brother right across the face.

"OW~!" cried Luffy. "Why'd you hit me, Ace?"

"That was a stupid move, Luffy!" Ace scolded. "What if we didn't get to you in time? You could've been cat food, all because you had to get your hat back!"

Luffy looked up at Ace with tearful eyes as he gripped the rim of his hat.

"But…Ace…" he whimpered.

"Luffy," Ace sighed. "I know that hat's important to you, but next time, let me and Sabo go with you when you're going on a tiger hunt. Understand?"

"Yeah," Sabo added. "You scared us both half to death."

Luffy wiped the tears from his eyes before he smiled and nodded his head.

Suddenly, the air was filled a loud rumbling sound. Luffy put his hands to his stomach and slumped down to the ground.

"Hungry~!" he whined.

Ace and Sabo chuckled before they took Luffy's hands into their own and led him away.

"C'mon, Luffy," Ace said.

"Let's go find us some crocodile," Sabo suggested.

"Yeah! Crocodile!" cheered Luffy.

THE END


End file.
